Given at the HEA Thematic Seminar: Sustainability Culture by a Thousand Cuts: An integrated whole institution approach to Greening your Academy; 21st May 2014, Keele University. Gives an overview of progress in our 2nd year module 'sustainable chemsitry'.

1. Sustainable Chemistry
Katherine Haxton
k.j.haxton@keele.ac.uk, @kjhaxton
May 2014

2. Course Context: Change
‘Traditional’ Chemistry Course
Dual Honours, Major Route
Major Curriculum Redesign:
• redevelop every module
• create Single Honours Route
• create new modules
• develope UG Masters (MChem)
Image CC BY-SA 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/spcbrass/

3. 2nd Year Sustainable Chemistry v1
2013/14, full year.
No exam.
Focus on developing
transferrable skills
hand-in-hand with
chemistry knowledge.
Several aspects taught
through narratives.
Disjointed list of topics:
- polymer chemistry
- environmental
chemistry
- industrial chemistry
- chemistry of gadgets

4. A Moment of Flippancy…
…and we called it
‘Sustainable Chemistry’.
It was a ‘theme’ for the module.
Then we had no option but to
‘do’ Education for
Sustainable Development.
CC-BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/hryckowian/

5. Chemistry Perspective
CC BY 2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/thebarrowboy/
http://www.education4sustainability.org/2013/02/25/the-social-side-of-sustainable-development/

6. Foundations
Intro lecture on sustainability concepts
- thanks to Zoe Robinson and Phillipa Calver
- produced a toolkit of key issues.
Inclusion of relevant examples in other aspects
- biodegradable polymers
- environmental chemistry and life cycle analysis
- focus on chemical perspective of a product
- 12 principles of green chemistry in the laboratory

7. Activities & Skills
Greening a 1st year laboratory experiment
Group work, experiment planning, delving into the
‘economics’ of the laboratory
Group and Individual Presentations
Group work, presentation skills (oral)
Life Cycle Analysis
Research skills (sources, referencing), writing
(summarising)
Infographic, short written work, magazine article and
poster
Presentation skills (written and graphical), writing (audience
awareness)

8. 88
94
12
6
0 0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sustainability is relevant to my degree This module has helped me understand
sustainability better
% agree
% neutral
% disagree

9. 29
24
6
47
38
18
24
47
29
47
53 53
47
24
13
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
I found it difficult
to concentrate in
2 hour sessions
I would have paid
more attention if
there had been
an exam at the
end of the
module
Exams are more
important than
coursework
Exams motivate
me to learn
I could not
reasonably have
done more work
for assessment in
this module
% agree % neutral % disagree

10. Beyond 2nd Year (2013/14)
One Module IS NOT
ENOUGH
- but access is a problem.
1st Year DKC Session
- skills with sustainability
themes
1st Year Screencast
Presentations (15 %)
- last year ‘any aspect’ of
chemistry.
- this year ‘chemistry
relating to sustainability
or the environment’
- required scaffolding:
intro lecture and DKC
session

11. 2014/15
Sus. Chem. v2.0, 1st Year SH
Focus on sustainability and
environmental issues
related to chemistry.
‘Pump priming’ for the rest of
the SH degree.
Industrial Chem. v1.5, 2nd Yr SH
Industrial topics with strong
emphasis on sustainability…
- polymer chemistry
- chemistry of gadgets
- industrial processes
One module becomes two!
No exams, focus on developing transferrable skills hand-in-hand
with chemistry knowledge.

12. Lessons
Depressed students (‘we’re all gonna die’)
Extremely complex role of subject within sustainable
development
- chemistry is both saint and sinner
Easy to consider the environment, harder to move deeper into
issues
No exam, all coursework: rewarding but much harder work
than ‘standard’ lecturing.
[hybrid of science comm. and teaching: must retain interest
and attention]

13. CC-BY-NC-2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/draconianrain/
In January my goals were:
survive semester 2 (Industrial Chem, DKC, 1st year
presentations);
evaluate, revise and prepare for next year;
read more!

14. CC-BY-2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/sancakg/
Now, the goals are:
reflect on evaluation (students and staff);
read A LOT more;
create more relevant narratives (holds attention better).

15. Acknowledgements
The Staff and Students of
Chemistry at Keele
15